Gleeson gets the team effort 36ers have craved

Bryce Cotton was still Bryce Cotton, but this time the Adelaide 36ers’ superstar wasn’t left to do it alone in a big road win over the New Zealand Breakers.

That’s exactly what coach Trevor Gleeson has been calling for all season, especially while the 36ers are without emerging star Flynn Cameron.

Nick Rakocevic has delivered all the way through, and Zylan Cheatham has been more aggressive since a rough outing in his last game against the Breakers. Keanu Rasmussen and John Jenkins III, though, have been up and down.

That’s no great surprise with Rasmussen still finding his feet in the NBL, but Jenkins, for all his shooting and scoring ability, has at times struggled to assert himself as an offensive threat.

On Friday night, it all came together. Cotton was at his usual level with 31 points and 6 assists, including 13 points in the fourth quarter, but this time he had plenty of help.

Jenkins scored 21 points, Cheatham had 17 points and 7 rebounds, and Rakocevic added 17 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists. Rasmussen chipped in 9 points, while Kenyon did a brilliant defensive job on Parker Jackson-Cartwright.

“Yeah and we need that,” Gleeson said.

“When you’ve got four guys in double figures and Keanu was close to double figures, and probably hit the last five points of the game, that’s what we need.

“Especially when Bryce gets so much attention for trapping, and we have to start to be more team-oriented.

“Obviously we want Bryce to shoot the most in our team, but we’ve also got to play and build that. So I’m happy and I love that pass out from Nick out to Keanu in the corner to get an open three that probably sealed the game for us.”

Cheatham enjoyed getting the win on his return to Auckland, but his focus has already turned to Sunday, when the 36ers play at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the first time since October 7.

Adelaide lost its last two home games, to the Breakers and Melbourne United, so Cheatham can’t wait to be back there to take on the Brisbane Bullets on Sunday.

“That was a big point of emphasis in our pre-game speech is like we’ve had this four-game away stand, and can we close it out the right way and get back home,” Cheatham said.

“We’re definitely hyped about it and we’ve got the best fans in the league, and I can’t wait to sleep in my own bed, and wake up and get in my routine and stuff. Yeah, I’m definitely excited about it.”